Day one of the ONE Esports FIGHT! Tokyo Invitational saw incredible playoff performances from some of Japan’s top Tekken players.

The top eight players from the five online qualifiers fought tooth and nail in today’s double-elimination bracket for a spot in tomorrow’s competition. Eddy specialist Ser won the grand final and has now qualified for the second day of competition, where he’ll go head-to-head with world-renowned Tekken pros such as Bae “Knee” Jae-min and Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique.

Here are some of the top highlights from the first day of the ONE Esports FIGHT! Tokyo Invitational.

7 best moments from ONE Esports FIGHT! Tokyo Invitational Day 1

Taisei unleashes a barrage of punches with Steve

Taisei brought out the biggest haymakers with Steve during his lower bracket match against Watanabe.

In the final round, Taisei landed a counter-hit Quick Hook that led to a flashy Gatling Gun wall combo. The Eliza player tried to retaliate with a meter-burn Dark Blade Chaos, but Taisei blocked the super move and quickly punished with a jumping punch.

Umashika is all about parries

On the brink of getting KO’ed in the first round of game four, Umashika low-parried what was supposedly Ser’s closing salvo and converted it into a multiple Fluttering Butterfly combo.

Instead of going for an ender after the tailspin, the Nina user went for a Can Opener, baiting the opponent to do a wake-up low kick. With the setup in place, Umashika canceled the kick string into another low parry and closed out the round with a Rage Art combo.

Guevara clutches a great round with a miraculous sidestep

Shaheen specialist Guevara played a stellar round against Ser and his capoeira fighter Eddy Gordo.

Down to a sliver of health with only ten seconds left, Guevara sidestepped Ser’s low kick and quickly punished with a Rage Drive combo. Rather than going for a combo ender that put him back on his feet, the Shaheen player opted to slide in and end in the prone position.

Ser got up and tried to attack the prone fighter, but Guevara was already one step ahead. The Shaheen user landed the perfect spring kick to clutch the round.

Mine uses capoeira to secure a perfect round

Eddy player Mine dished out the biggest capoeira combos against Umashika’s Nina. While this was his final match in the tournament, the Japanese player ended his run with a few jaw-dropping highlights.

Mine had the Nina player on lock during game three, converting his whiffs into full juggle combos. He then landed a heavy-hitting wall splat followed by an elbow, winning the round without taking damage.

Watanabe goes all out with Eliza’s dive kicks

Watanabe shows just how powerful meter burns can be in a game like Tekken.

With almost two blood meters at the ready, Watanabe opened a combo with a Dark Cannon Chaos followed by multiple Dark Cannons that led to a balcony break.

By the time they landed on Duomo di Sirio’s lower flower, the Eliza player had one more meter to spare. Since he spiked the opponent’s body with a Dark Cannon, he had enough time to input another Dark Cannon Chaos for a deadly combo reset.

Hazuremetal brings out the claws for a clutch round

In the final round of game one of the grand final reset, Hazuremetal received a flurry of blows from Ser’s Eddy, leaving him with only a pixel of health left.

This gave the capoeirista an early advantage in closing the game. However, Hazure’s Kuma was able to corner his opponent by the wall with a Bear Skip, following it up with a Double Claw okizeme.

Ser attempted to connect a low kick as he woke up, but ended up eating another Bear Skip. With the Eddy user facedown, Hazure unleashed a seven-hit Rage Drive combo, taking the game and topping it off with a ki-charge.

Ser claps his final opponent to oblivion

Ser won the grand final by utilizing an unorthodox move from Tekken’s capoeira king.

Throughout his matches, Ser was implementing a lesser-known move called Vasuuna that puts Eddy in the air for a short time. Nicknamed “the clapper” by the casters, Ser decided to use his bread and butter for the perfect finish to day one.

Since Hazuremetal whiffed his low kick as Ser did the clapper, the move turned into a combo starter. The Eddy player then unleashed his fury, taking half of Hazure’s life with a counter-hit combo. Having the health advantage, Ser played aggressively and landed a few more pokes plus a Roundhouse to win the series.

The ONE Esports Fight! Tokyo Invitational is presented by Omne by FWD.

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READ MORE: ONE Esports FIGHT! Tokyo Invitational: Schedule, format, prize pool